Research paper

The off-crust origin of granite batholiths

Antonio Castro
*
Unidad Asociada de Petrologa Experimental, CSIC-Universidad de Huelva. Campus El Carmen, 21071 Huelva, Spain
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 23 January 2013
Received in revised form
20 June 2013
Accepted 21 June 2013
Available online 9 July 2013
Keywords:
Batholith
Granodiorite
Andesite
Relamination
Granulite
Lower crust
a b s t r a c t
Granitod batholiths of I-type features (mostly granodiorites and tonalites), and particularly those forming
the large plutonic associations of active continental margins and intracontinental collisional belts,
represent the most outstanding magmatic episodes occurred in the continental crust. The origin of
magmas, however, remains controversial. The application of principles from phase equilibria is crucial to
understand the problem of granitoid magma generation. An adequate comparison between rock com-
positions and experimental liquids has been addressed by using a projected compositional space in the
plane F(Fe Mg)eAnorthiteeOrthoclase. Many calc-alkaline granitoid trends can be considered cotectic
liquids. Assimilation of country rocks and other not-cotectic processes are identied in the projected
diagram. The identication of cotectic patterns in batholith implies high temperatures of magma
segregation and fractionation (or partial melting) from an intermediate (andesitic) source. The com-
parison of batholiths with lower crust granulites, in terms of major-element geochemistry, yields that
both represent liquids and solid residues respectively from a common andesitic system. This is
compatible with magmas being formed by melting, and eventual reaction with the peridotite mantle, of
subducted mlanges that are nally relaminated as magmas to the lower crust. Thus, the off-crust
generation of granitoids batholiths constitutes a new paradigm in which important geological implica-
tions can be satisfactorily explained. Geochemical features of Cordilleran-type batholiths are totally
compatible with this new conception.
2013, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University. Production and hosting by
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Geology, as the science of Earth history, is prone to controversy.
The study of history of any kind depends upon documents and
records. For the history of the Earths crust, these documents are
the rocks and their reading and interpretation are often difcult
operations.
H.H. Read (1959) The Granite Controversy
The method of science is tried and true. It is not perfect; its just
the best we have. And to abandon it with its skeptical protocols
is the pathway to a dark age.
Carl Sagan (1997) The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle
in the Dark
1. Introduction
Granites are among the most enigmatic rocks of the Earths
continental crust. They have been enigmatic for long time along the
history of Geology and still they are in present days. Granite geol-
ogy, similar to other problems related to the origin and evolution of
the Earth, had its proper dark ages, where all kind of conjectures
prevailed. Today, with application of advanced methods of modern
Earth Sciences, particularly those provided by Mineral Thermody-
namics, Geochemistry, Isotope Geology and Geophysics, we have a
more accurate view of the granite problem and its implication in
the origin of the continents (Taylor and McLennan, 1985; Windley,
1995). Experimental Petrology was the rst light into the dark
history of the granite controversy. Laboratory experiments are our
particular candle in the dark that opened the newsight on granite
magma generation and accounted for observed eld relations and
geochemical trends.
Granitic rocks, in contrast with other rock types forming the
Earths continental crust, have been subjects of several contro-
versies along the recent history of Geology. A vigorous debate was
leaded in the middle half of the past century by Norman L. Bowen
* Tel.: 34 959219828.
E-mail address: acdorado@gmail.com.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2013.06.006
Geoscience Frontiers 5 (2014) 63e75
and H.H. Read (see Gilluly, 1948). The debate confronted experi-
mental petrology and eld geology, crucibles and plutons. The
acceptance of more than one granite generation mechanism, and
hence more than one granite type (granites and granites; Read,
1948, 1957), spread some kind of peace. The experimental deter-
mination of fundamental phase relationships in the Ab-Or-Qtz-H
2
O
system (Tuttle and Bowen, 1958) opened a new window into the
granite problem. However, this was a short-lived peace. Only very
fewgranites can be produced at conditions of water saturation and
very few have the composition of the granite minimum. The exis-
tence of different types of granites is an empirical fact. The S-I
granite types (Chappell and White, 1974, 2001) and the anorogenic
A-type (Loiselle and Wones, 1979; Bonin, 2007) are broadly
recognized around the world. Although the recognition of several
granite types is not a solution to the problem, the granite type
classication is an important step to approach a global solution. An
important advantage of the classication scheme is to set the
granite problem at the scale of the whole continental crust as a
function of the relative abundance of each granite type. Interest-
ingly, the most enigmatic granites in relation to origin are the most
abundant ones, those belonging to the I-type according to the
Chappell-Whites classication. This short review is focused on
these I-type granitoids that not only from the Cordilleran-type
batholiths, but also appear forming large post-collisional batho-
liths in intracontinental orogenic domains. The anatectic S-type
granites, formed by partial melting of metasediments, and the
anorogenic A-type granites are not included in this discussion.
However, transitions between S- and I-types have been reported
recently in large batholithic areas of Central Spain (Diaz-Alvarado
et al., 2011) and the Famatinian magmatic arc in Argentina
(Grosse et al., 2011), as well as between A- and I-types in Mesozoic
metamorphic core complexes of large regions of NE Asia (Guo et al.,
2012). Whilst S/I transitions are identied as the result of local
assimilation of partially molten metasediments at the emplace-
ment level of I-type batholiths, the generation of A/I transitions
remains obscure in the same degree of uncertainty than the origin
of A-type granites.
But, why these apparently simple rocks, mostly composed of
quartz and feldspars, are so enigmatic? First, granites of the
Cordilleran-type batholiths are not so simple as believed. Second, a
solution to the problem of the origin can be given in the context of
the new paradigm of arc magmatism, which is linked to a new
conception of the thermal structure of the mantle in supra-
subduction zones. I will showin this short review both facets of the
problem: on one hand, the relative complexity of Cordilleran-type
(i.e., I-type) granitic rocks and, on the other hand, the new genetic
mechanisms emerging from thermomechanical models, which are
pointing to an off-crust generation of batholiths.
2. Models for granitoid (granodiorite-tonalite) magma
generation
In addressing the problem of granitoid (mostly granodiorite and
tonalite) magma generation, we nd two main handicaps: (1)
Petrogenetic models based on experimental phase equilibria (e.g.,
Naney, 1983; Patio Douce, 1995; Castro et al., 2010) require ther-
mal conditions (T > 1000

C) that are not prevailing within the
continental crust. (2) Hypotheses to get abnormal T gradients in the
crust by advective heating from the mantle by basalt underplating
(e.g., Annen et al., 2006) do not receive support from geological
data related to lower crust composition (Castro et al., 2013b).
Consequently, the origin of granite batholiths remains enigmatic,
full of controversial and subject to speculative models. An in-depth
discussion of the varied models is out of scope of this review, which
is focused on geological data supporting an off-crust generation of
granite batholiths. However, a short discussion on the most clas-
sical on-crust models may help to better understanding of the
proposed off-crust origin.
Any model for the generation of granite batholiths must account
for essential natural observations. Several models have been pro-
posed to account for the generation of granodiorite-tonalite
magmas (Fig. 1). However, no one fully satises natural observa-
tions of batholiths. By contrast, they entail unrealistic and para-
doxical implications, which will be discussed below. I will show
here that all paradoxes about granite magma generation are solved,
or dissolved, if granite sources are initially rooted within the mantle
and not within the continental crust. Two large model categories
are distinguished depending on the locus of magma generation.
These are (1) on-crust models (Fig. 1aec) and (2) off-crust models
(Fig. 1def). On-crust models postulate batholith magma generation
from lower crust rocks. By contrast, off-crust models propose the
generation of parental andesite magmas by processes within the
mantle by melting and/or reaction of subducted materials. Among
the most relevant on-crust models (Fig. 1) we may mention (1)
basaltic underplating and crustal delamination, (2) melting of the
lower crust by intrusion of basalts, (3) crustal assimilation by basalt
magmas and (4) magma mixing.
2.1. Basaltic underplating. A two-stage process
Basically, this model proposes that granite batholiths are
generated in two stages fromthe mantle. In a rst stage, basalts are
generated by melting of the peridotite mantle and emplaced by
underplating at the lower continental crust. In a second stage, ba-
salts solidied and are partially molten to produce silicic melts that
may form batholiths. Large tonalite intrusions from the Cordillera
Blanca batholith are explained by this genetic mechanism (Petford
and Atherton, 1996). The model was rened (Hawkesworth and
Kemp, 2006) and applied as a general mechanism to generate the
continental crust. The implication of granite magma generation
from partial melting of underplated basalts at the lower crust is the
formation of large volumes of ultramac residues (about 70 wt.% of
the intruding basalt), which are missing in the lower continental
crust. Two possible solutions can be given to this paradoxical hy-
pothesis. First, the ultramac residues are missing because they
have been sunk into the mantle by process of crustal delamination.
Second, granites are not derived from melting, or incomplete
crystallization, of underplated basalts at the lower crust. Delami-
nation is an old concept (Bird, 1979) applied by Kay and Kay (1993)
to account for a particular magmatism, supposedly unique, of the
Puna region of Northern Argentina. A thickened lower crust is a
necessary condition to increase the density of a lithosphere that
otherwise is buoyant (Kay and Kay, 1993). The delamination hy-
pothesis is supported by seismic evidence in Sierra Nevada, Cali-
fornia (Gilbert et al., 2012). We may leave the debate on lithosphere
delamination aside and ask a central question: are basalts able to
fractionate to granite melts at the lower crust? The question
received attention in several studies on mechanisms of new crust
generation (e.g., Hawkesworth and Kemp, 2006; Lee et al., 2006,
2007; Castro et al., 2013b). Phase relations are crucial on this
point. Olivine is not stable at the pressures of the lower crust and it
is necessary to increase the silica of the residual melt without large
depletion in Fe and Mg. The stable phase is pyroxene (Px) in a dry
basalt system, and pyroxene crystallization slightly modies the
silica content of the residual liquid with respect to the initial
basaltic composition (see crystallization modeling with MELTS
code in Castro et al. (2013b)). It has been proposed, as a variant of
the model, that water-bearing basalt is more favorable to frac-
tionate to silicic (granitic) magmas (Thompson et al., 2002). How-
ever, the composition of residual liquids from a wet-basalt is not
A. Castro / Geoscience Frontiers 5 (2014) 63e75 64
Sediments
Subd.
erosion
Silicic diapir (partially molten
mlange)
Continental crust
Sediments
Reaction channels
Continental crust
Sediments
Wet picritic basalt
Continental crust
Metasomatized mantle
Sediments
Continental crust
Metasomatized mantle
Lower crust
melting
Delamination of
mafic residues
Fluids
Sediments
Continental crust
Metasomatized mantle
Melting of the
lower arc crust
Delamination of
lower arc crust
Fluids Hot mantle upwelling
Continental crust
Delamination of
lower crust and
mantle lithosphere
Hot mantle upwelling
Melting of the
lower crust
Continental crust
On-crust models Off-crust models
Basalt magmas (blue) invade the
lower crust and provoke melting to
give rise to batholith magmas (red)
and solid residues.
Delamination of ultramafic residues
(dark grey) is needed.
Large basalt:crust ratios of 2:1 are
required.
Lower crust rocks are not appropriate
to produce granite batholiths.
Lower crust melting assisted by basalt magma intrusion
Lower crust melting assisted by delamination and mantle upwelling
Fractionation from high-Mg andesites (HMA) formed in reaction channels
Fractionation of andesite formed by previous fractionation of wet picritic basalts
Melting of subducted mlanges and magma relamination to the lower crust
Delamination of lower crust and
lithosphere allows lower crust
heating by upwelling of hot
asthenospheric mantle. Melting of
the lower crust produce batholiths
(red).
Thickenning results by additions of
magma to the lower crust in arcs or
by intracontinental collision.
Basalt magmatism, expected to
occur as consequence of mantle
upwelling, is missing in intracontinen-
tal orogens and mature (thick) arcs
or active margins.
Lower crust rocks are not appropria-
te to produce granite batholiths.
Possibly working in intraoceanic arcs
if lower crust is already andesitic.
The andesite source is the result of
off-crust processes.
Melts from the slab react with the peroidotite
mantle and produce high-Mg andesites
(blue).
These fractionate within the crust, or in thew
way upwards through rhe mantle, to produce
silica-rich melts (batholiths) (red).
The model accounts for isotopic features
and thermomechanical models.
HMA and equivalent plutonic (sanukitoids
and appinites) are common in relation to
batholiths.
Water-rich picritic basalts (green) fractionate
within the mantle to andesite melts (blue).
These are underplated at the lower crust
and fractionate again to silicic magmas of
batholiths (red).
An extra process of crustal assimilation is
needed to account for geochemical and
isotopic features of batholiths.
High water contents not compatible with
undersaturarated character of bahtoliths
Silicic andesitic magmas (blue) are directly
generated from subducted materials within
the mantle wedge in the form of silicic
diapirs (purple). These are fractionated
within the crust to form silicic batholiths (red)
and residual granulites of the lower crust.
Hybrid geochemical features are acquired
from the source.
Supported by geochemistry, phase equilibria
and numerical models.
Fluids
a d
b
c
e
f
Figure 1. Schematic representation of petrogenetic-tectonic models (not at scale) proposed for the generation of batholiths of calc-alkaline, Cordilleran-type afnities (I-type granites). Two large categories are distinguished depending
on the locus of magma generation, on-crust (aec) or off-crust (def). On-crust models postulate batholith magma generation by melting of lower crust rocks. These models need of an extra heat source that can be supplied by mantle-
derived basalts (a). The required basalt: crust ratio of 2:1 is based on thermal modeling (Annen et al., 2006). Mantle upwelling due to lower crust delamination (b) has also been proposed in active margins (Kay and Kay, 1993) and in
intracontinental orogens (e.g., North China; Zhai et al., 2007). The absence of basaltic magmatism and the low fertility of the refractory lower crust, are the two main handicaps of these on-crust models. Off-crust models propose the
generation of parental andesite magmas by processes within the mantle by melting and/or reaction of subducted materials. Generation of high-Mg andesites (d) may occur in reaction channels within the mantle (Kelemen, 1995;
Kelemen et al., 2003), involving melts and uids from the subduction zone. The process is supported on recent data from numerical modeling (Vogt et al., 2013) and laboratory experiments (Castro et al., 2013a). Generation of
andesites from wet basalt within the mantle may also produce the required silicic compositions that fractionate within the crust to generate batholiths (Alonso Perez et al., 2009). Finally, the generation of batholiths from melting of
subducted mlanges (f) has been proposed as the most plausible explanation (see text for further explanations).
A
.
C
a
s
t
r
o
/
G
e
o
s
c
i
e
n
c
e
F
r
o
n
t
i
e
r
s
5
(
2
0
1
4
)
6
3
e
7
5
6
5
matching fundamental geochemical features of granite batholiths.
Assimilation of crustal rocks is needed in these models to account
for crustal features, such as high K and incompatible elements that
characterize granite batholiths. Furthermore, the water content of
the silica-rich granite liquid produced by fractionation of a wet
basalt with a minimum initial water content of about 3 wt.% H
2
O,
will be at saturation in the residual melt, which is completely un-
realistic and far from the low water content that characterize
Cordilleran-type granite batholiths. The application of this model to
the water-rich granitoids of the Adamello massif (Thompson et al.,
2002) seems to be a plausible explanation, but its application to the
common water-undersaturated Cordilleran granites is unlike.
2.2. Lower crust melting
Because melting of the peridotite mantle cannot produce
granite magma, partial melting of the lower crust is the most im-
mediate explanation for the generation of silicic magmas that are
emplaced in the middle and upper crust. It is proposed in these
models that granite magmatism is produced at the lower crust by
heating from deep asthenospheric mantle that replaces a suppos-
edly delaminated lithosphere. Thus, the need for delamination is
also present in these models. Alternatively, heating of the lower
crust can be achieved by advective heat transport of mantle-
derived basalt to the lower crust (Annen et al., 2006). According
to these thermal models, a basalt-to-crust ratio of 2:1 is needed to
reach the high temperatures required to get granodiorite and
tonalite melts. Furthermore, it is assumed that lower crust is sup-
posedly fertile to produce the required granite magma composi-
tions. Nonetheless, the expected high proportions of basaltic rocks
are missing in the continental crust, and they never occur in large
crustal regions that were pervasively invaded by granite batholiths
(e.g. the active margins of the Americas; Pankhurst et al., 1999;
Herv et al., 2007; Lee et al., 2007; Crawford et al., 2009; Castro
et al., 2011b) and the Mesozoic large igneous province of NE Asia
(Guo et al., 2012). Are they also delaminated and sank into the
mantle? I have documented a case of melting of lower crust assisted
by water- and K-rich uids released fromwet basalts intruding into
tonalitic TTG gneisses from the Northern Highlands is Scotland
(Castro, 2004). The process, however, needs of an already granitic
source (TTG complexes) and cannot be applied to the Px-rich, mac
granulites that dominate the relatively more mac (andesitic) post-
Achaean lower continental crust.
2.3. Assimilation and magma mixing
Assimilation of upper crustal rocks by intruding granodiorite-
tonalite batholiths is well documented in many granitic areas
(Erdmann et al., 2007; Saito et al., 2007; Diaz-Alvarado et al., 2011).
The process may be accomplished by means of reactive bulk-
assimilation (Beard et al., 2005) without the implication of large
energetic budget from the intruding magma. However, geological
evidence is not in favor of assimilation as a mechanism to produce
the I-type granodiorite and tonalite rocks. Assimilation of crustal
rocks by basalt magmas has been tested experimentally as a
mechanism able to produce granodiorite melts (Patio-Douce,
1995; Castro et al., 1999). However, temperatures as high as
1000

C are still insufcient to produce tonalite and granodiorite
melts matching the composition of batholiths.
Magma mixing and assimilation are normally identied as local
phenomena that cannot be applied to account for the generation of
granodiorite-tonaliterocks at the scale of batholiths (see discussions
in Castro et al., 2010; Clemens and Stevens, 2012). Both processes
have in common that they are not selective; they affect the whole
compositions of the involved end-members. The implication is that
compositional variations in major elements must be accompanied
bysimilar variations intraceelements andisotopes. For instance, ina
general diorite-tonalite-granodiorite-granite trend, the terms richer
in K (granite) must be the richer in radiogenic
87
Sr and poorer in
radiogenic
143
Nd, inagreement withpredictions of the Sr-Ndisotope
systematics. By contrast, the general observation is the existence of
signicant decoupling between major element contents and radio-
genic isotopes. An example is the trend displayed in Sr-Nd initial
isotope ratios by granitoids of the Patagonian batholith in South
America (Pankhurst et al., 1999; Herv et al., 2007) where granites
with identical composition in terms of major elements plot either in
the eld of mantle-like sources or in the eld of evolved crust.
Geochemical decoupling is a characteristic feature of Cordilleran
granite batholiths. The implication is that rocks represent cotectic
liquids from heterogeneous sources, being the composition of liq-
uids buffered by the co-existing solid assemblage over a wide range
of source compositions (Castro et al., 2010). These observations are
essential to constrain potential processes of granite magma gener-
ation with two additional implications. First, assimilation and
magma mixing can be ruled out as general mechanisms able to
produce granodiorite-tonalite magmas. Second, they imply that
geochemical variations may be related to cotectic evolution of liq-
uids in equilibriumwith a changing solid assemblage. Evidences for
such a behavior of I-type granite systems are given below.
3. Granodiorite-tonalite systems: magmas or liquids?
Identication of granodiorite-tonalite magmas as either liquids
formed by cotectic magmatic systems or magma mushes carrying
suspended mac minerals, is an essential step previous to any dis-
cussion about processes of magma generation. Several experimental
studies have been addressed to seek for conditions of granodiorite-
tonalite liquid generation. Composite systems, containing crustal
and mantle sources together are preferred in most experimental
studies in order to satisfy the mantle/crust hybrid geochemical sig-
natures, in terms of isotopic ratios, of I-type granitoids (Johnston and
Wyllie, 1988, 1989; Patio-Douce, 1995; Castro et al., 1999). In gen-
eral, the reportedexperimental melts inthese studies arepoorer inFe
and Mg compared to natural rocks. It was proposed partial entrain-
ment of peritectic pyroxene (Castro et al., 1999, pag. 274), in a way
similar to that proposed lately by Clemens and Stevens (2012), to
account for the high Fe and Mg content of most granodiorite and
tonalite rocks compared to experimental melts. Restite entrainment
is well supported in S-type granitic rocks in which, macity
(expressed as the sumof molar Fe Mg Ti; Clemens et al., 2011) is
positively correlated with Al saturation index, denoting the
entrainment of peritectic minerals such as Grt and/or Cord, which
supply jointly Fe Mg and Al to the system. The application of per-
itectic restite entrainment to I-type granodiorites and tonalites is not
straightforward. Simple mass balance yields that about 20 wt.% of
orthopyroxene must be added to experimental granodiorite melts
formed at 1000

C to increase their macity to the normal values of I-

type granodiorites (Castro et al., 1999). Nevertheless, the generation
of these leucogranodiorite melts in equilibrium with pyroxene and
plagioclase, either by breakdown of amphibole or by partial crystal-
lization of an andesite system, requires temperatures of about
950e1000

C. That is, granodiorite melts may increase hypothetically

their macity by incorporating restitic pyroxene fromthe source, but
temperature as high as 1000

C is required to get pyroxene in equi-
librium with melt at the source. According to experiments, this
required high temperature increases with increasing pressure.
Addition of water may reduce the liquidus temperature at the
same time that Fe and Mg increase their solubility by increasing the
water content of the melts. However, a characteristic feature of I-
type granitic magmas is strong water undersaturation, as it is
A. Castro / Geoscience Frontiers 5 (2014) 63e75 66
demonstrated by the crystallization sequence with plagioclase,
instead of amphibole, as the liquidus phase. Although some gain of
macity can be accomplished by peritectic restite entrainment, the
observed chemical variation trends of batholiths strongly support
the cotectic co-variation of Ca, Mg and Fe in tonalite-granodiorite
systems. Identication of cotectic trends implies that composi-
tional variations are controlled by the co-existing mineral assem-
blage, and this is in turn controlled by changes in intensive
variables (particularly in T) as a result, for instance, of cooling and
crystallization at the place of emplacement.
3.1. Granodiorites and tonalites as cotectic liquids
As granodiorite and tonalite contain a signicant proportion of
the minimum granite composition, the temperature required for
magma generation may range from 650

C at water saturated
conditions to about 850

C for water-undersaturated systems (at
mid-crustal pressures of 600 MPa) inasmuch as the non-minimum
components (NMC), namely Ca, Ti, Fe and Mg, are only contained in
calcic and mac minerals and transported as suspensions by the
magmas from the source region. However, if these NMC compo-
nents are dissolved in the melt, the corresponding temperatures
can be considerably higher, up to >1000

C for water undersatu-
rated conditions (Maaloe and Wyllie, 1975). The implication is that
such a high temperature melts are unlikely produced by partial
melting of crustal rocks, but they can be produced from andesitic
magma systems that, after undergoing potential magmatic differ-
entiation within the lithospheric mantle, can be nally fractionated
into liquids and solid residues within the continental crust.
It is apparent fromtextures and phase equilibriumrelationships of
water-undersaturated magmas (Maaloe and Wyllie, 1975; Naney,
1983) that hydrous mac minerals, namely biotite and amphibole,
are late phases that precipitate fromresidual melts at the late stages of
magma evolution. The point at which these hydrous ferromagnesian
minerals start to precipitate in the magma depends on compositional
factors, principally the initial water content, pressure and tempera-
ture. Experiments conrm that hydrous ferromagnesian minerals
formas peritectic phases associatedtothe breakdownof pyroxenes in
thecourseof cooling. Theimplicationis that ferromagnesianminerals,
either anhydrous or hydrous, are part of the coexisting assemblage
over a wide crystallization interval fromliquidus to solidus in diorite-
tonalite-granodiorite systems. Consequently, the composition of
melts is controlled by phase equilibria. Consideration of granodiorite-
tonalite rocks as either liquids or mechanical mixtures of crystals and
low-temperature liquids requires a rigorous comparison of whole
rocks and experimental glasses, in terms of major elements, on
appropriate diagrams. It is proposed here a projectionfor calc-akaline
andesite-dacite-rhyolite (diorite-granodiorite-granite) systems onto
the plane F(Fe Mg)-An-Or of a complex system dened by the
components Si, Al, Ti, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ca, Na and K (Fig. 2a). Details of this
projection are given in Castro (2013). The most important composi-
tional variations fromtonalites togranites (sensustricto) are expanded
onto this plane projection by two relevant ratios: (1) the K/K Ca
molar ratio (K
#
) ranging from almost 1.0 in leucogranites to 0.1 in
tonalites and Qtz-diorites, and (2) the macity (Fe Mg content) in
relation to feldspar components Ca and K (Na is a projection point).
The lowest values of K
#
correspondtomesocratic andmac rocks that
display the highest values of MgO and FeO. Consequently, these
components recast to a molecular base in the formof F (FeO MgO),
Orthoclase and Anorthite, are the ones that better describe composi-
tional variations in the calc-alkaline magmatic systems and they are
selected for the molar projection shown in Fig. 2a. It is interesting to
notice the experimental nding of a buffered melt composition from
heterogeneous sources (Castro et al., 2010) in a so complex multi-
component system, validating the assumption that lines dened by
liquidcompositions canbe treated as cotectic. Althoughdifferences in
the bulksystemcompositionare affectingthe positionof cotectic lines
in this projection, the attitude of the multisaturation lines (i.e. the
curvature and slopewithrespect to the basis F-Or of the diagram) and
the position of the minimum in the system are rather related to
intensive variables and water content than to differences in the bulk
composition. Combining these criteria, cotectic lines, traced by inter-
polation of the selected experimental data, can be grouped in three
main categories (Fig. 2b): (1) water-rich and saturated systems, (2)
high-pressure and undersaturated systems, and (3) low-pressure and
undersaturated systems.
The rst group is characterized by short-range variations and
evolution with decreasing temperature towards the An apex. Many
trondhjemites associated to water-saturated melting of mac
sources plot in this region. The eld overlaps partially with the area
of adakites. The second group is characterized by multisaturation
lines showing depletion in ferromagnesian components (F apex).
These cotectic lines are almost parallel to the An-Or join and are
related to the presence of Grt in the coexisting assemblage. These
systems have in common the high pressure (>1.5 GPa) and the low
water content (ca. 1 wt.% H
2
O). The third group is characterized by a
gentler slope, compared with the former one, and by a curvilinear
shape concave to the F apex. The common features of these systems
are water undersaturation (1e2.5 wt.% H
2
O) and low to moderate
pressure (1.0e0.3 GPa). These are also characterized by the com-
mon presence of Hbl and Pl (Bt, Px) along a wide temperature
interval along the cotectic lines. The diagram is robust to identify
cotectic and non-cotectic relations. For instance, assimilation of
country metasediments is easily identiable by vectors (labeled a in
Fig. 2b) departing from the cotectic array. Another non-cotectic
pattern is formed by restite unmixing (labeled ru in Fig. 2b)
commonly displayed by S-type granites in which incomplete sep-
aration of restite and melt produce particular patterns that are
easily identied as non-cotectic in the diagram.
Projection of granitoid samples from different calc-alkaline
batholiths strongly suggests that they represent essentially liq-
uids fractionated from a common magmatic source of broadly
andesitic (Qtz-dioritic) composition.
4. Records of high temperature and high pressure in
granitoids
Slow cooling is an intrinsic feature of plutonic rocks. The
consequence is resetting of mineral-mineral and mineral-melt
equilibria to near-solidus magmatic conditions of the early
magmatic stages at the time of segregation from the source or
fractionation in a deep-seated magma chamber. However, some
relations survive partially as relics from the early magmatic stages,
providing with important information on magmatic temperatures
and initial water contents of the magma at the time of segregation.
Depth is preserved as relations of particular trace elements that are
partitioned into mineral phases whose stability eld is mostly
dependent on pressure. These are the Sr/Y and Ce/Yb ratios, which
are strongly controlled by the presence of garnet in the source re-
gion. A detailed review on the meaning of the adakitic signature,
emphasizing on cautions in handling these geochemical parame-
ters, is given by Moyen (2009). Near-liquidus temperatures may be
revealed by the presence of relic minerals that survived peritectic
transformations in the course of slow cooling. Crystallization
sequence is revealing initial water content in the magma systems.
4.1. Crystallization sequence
Amphibole (Amp) is a common mac mineral in I-type granodi-
orites andtonalites. Whether Ampis earlyor late inthe crystallization
A. Castro / Geoscience Frontiers 5 (2014) 63e75 67
sequence is important for two reasons. First, magmatic crystallization
of Amp, and of any other mac mineral, implies that the mac
components Fe and Mg were dissolved in the silicate melt and were
not transported in mac restitic minerals entrained from the source.
Textural relations are clearly indicating that Amp crystallized from
the magma. However, crystallization is rarely early in the magmatic
sequence, indicating that the initial water content of the magma was
lower than the minimum water required to stabilize Amp. In the
course of crystallization of plagioclase and pyroxene, the remaining
liquid is becoming richer inwater leading to amphibole saturation at
any intermediate point of the crystallization sequence between liq-
uidus and solidus. A rough estimation of the initial water content can
be made by analyzing the crystallization sequence, which can be
compared with predictions of experimental phase relations in
T X
H2O
sections (e.g., Maaloe and Wyllie, 1975; Naney, 1983). Ac-
cording to experiments in granodiorite systems, the required water
Pelites
Pelites
Greywackes
An
Or
F
Cpx
Hbl
Grt
Opx
Bt
Greywackes
Primary magmas
(Andesitic)
assimilation
restite
entrainment
Adakites
T
o
n
a
l
i
t
e
s
G
r
a
n
o
d
i
o
r
i
t
e
s
M
o
n
z
o
g
r
a
n
i
t
e
s

a
n
d

g
r
a
n
i
t
e
s

s
.
s
.
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
p1: Opx+Liq Hbl
p2: Hbl+Liq Bt
0.3 GPa
2.5 %wt H O
2
Opx
Pl
F
1000
950
An
Or
Bt
e
900
p2
p1
Hbl
Hbl
Cpx
Bt
Pl
Opx
T
o
n
a
l
i
t
e
s
G
r
a
n
o
d
i
o
r
i
t
e
s
M
o
n
z
o
g
r
a
n
i
t
e
s

a
n
d

g
r
a
n
i
t
e
s

s
.
s
.
+Qtz
+Als
+Il
+Ab
+FeMg-1
+FeMn-1
+Qtz
+Als
+Il
+Ab
+FeMg-1
+FeMn-1
+Qtz
+Als
+Il
+Ab
+FeMg-1
+FeMn-1
F
An
Or
Hbl
Cpx
Bt
Pl
Opx
2
0 4
0
Pelites
SiO : 63-70 %
2
SiO : <63 %
2
SiO : >70 %
2
Assimilation
T
o
n
a
l
i
t
e
s
G
r
a
n
o
d
i
o
r
i
t
e
s
M
o
n
z
o
g
r
a
n
i
t
e
s

a
n
d

g
r
a
n
i
t
e
s

s
.
s
.
+Qtz
+Als
+Il
+Ab
+FeMg-1
+FeMn-1
F
An
Or
Hbl
Cpx
Bt
Pl
Opx
Pl
T
o
n
a
l
i
t
e
s
G
r
a
n
o
d
i
o
r
i
t
e
s
M
o
n
z
o
g
r
a
n
i
t
e
s

a
n
d

g
r
a
n
i
t
e
s

s
.
s
.
a b
c d
7
8 7
Mafic enclaves
Tonalite-Monzogranite series
Granites
Contaminated granites
Velasco batholith,
Famatinian arc
(Argentina)
Gredos batholith,
Iberian massif
(Spain)
Figure 2. Projection onto the plane F (FeO MgO)-Anorthite-Orthoclase (F-Or-An). (a) Projection of cotectic lines interpolated from experiments with andesite systems. Projection
points are labeled at the upper left corner. Data sources are following numbers beside each curve refer to data source as follows: 1. Picrite-fractionated liquids (Alonso Perez et al.,
2009); 2. Qtz-eclogite (Skjierlie and Patino Douce, 2002); 3. Low-silica tonalite (Carroll and Wyllie, 1990); 4. Basalt-sediment mlange (Castro et al., 2010); 5 and 7, Mlange (Castro
et al., 2013a); 6 and 8, Andesite and shshonitic andesites (Sisson et al., 2005). The water contents of these experimental works ranges from the lowest values (ca. 1 wt.% H
2
O) of
natural mlanges (0.87 wt.% H
2
O for a sediment fraction Xs 0.5), to the highest values of 4 and 8 wt.% H
2
O in the runs with a picrite-fractionated composition (Alonso Perez et al.,
2009). The runs with natural basaltic andesite and shoshonitic basalt (Sisson et al., 2005) contain 1.68 and 2.33 wt.% H
2
O respectively. Red arrows indicate potential not-cotectic
vectors dominated by assimilation of pelitic rocks and restite entrainment. (b) Tentative position of peritectic points and cotectic lines according to assemblages in experiments at
0.3 GPa and 2.5 wt.% water with a basalt-sediment mlange (Castro et al., 2013a). Composition of the starting material is represented by large blue star in the eld of andesites. (c)
Position of cotectic granodiorites from the Velasco batholith (Bellos et al., 2013). Large arrow indicates assimilation in samples departing from the low P cotectic, number 7 in (a).
Enclaves may represent the parental magmas of this batholith. Heterogenous granites with S/I transitional features (Grosse et al., 2011) of the same batholith are the result of upper
crust contamination with pelitic host rocks. They may contain up to 40 wt.% of contaminant (red dashed curves and numbers beside in red). (d) Projection onto the same diagram of
cotectic and not-cotectic (assimilation processes) of granodiorite and monzogranite rocks of the Gredos batholith in Central Spain (Diaz-Alvarado et al., 2011). In this case, cotectic
number 8 is the closest to the rock trend for the high silica rocks. Mineral abbreviations after Kretz (1983).
A. Castro / Geoscience Frontiers 5 (2014) 63e75 68
content to stabilize Amp is of 4 wt.% H
2
Oat P 200 MPa and 2.5 wt.%
H
2
Oat P 800 MPa (Naney, 1983). Amphibole crystals showtypically
anhedral crystalline habits in Cordilleran granodiorites and tonalites.
Amphibole is late with respect to plagioclase in the crystallization
sequence and it may showeuhedral habit only in contact with quartz
and/or alkali feldspar. Even in the particular cases, in which Amp is
apparently euhedral, it shows molding relations against plagioclase
and euhedral habit against quartz (Fig. 3), suggesting that Amp was
not the liquidus phase of the system and, thus, that the initial water
content of the magma was lower than that required to stabilize Amp.
It is difcult to assess the liquid fraction of the magma at the time of
Amp crystallization. In the reasonable case of 50 wt.% of
plagioclase pyroxene crystallization, the initial water content is half
of the content required for Amp crystallization. This may range from
1.25 wt.% H
2
O if crystallization proceeds at low pressure
(P 200 MPa) to 2 wt.%H
2
Ofor deeper crystallization (P 800 Mpa),
according to the above mentioned experimental requirements
(Naney, 1983). These estimations imply highliquidus temperatures of
more than1000

C for Amp-bearing granodiorite andtonalite liquids.

Low temperature granodioritic liquids must have higher water con-
tent of around 11 wt.% H
2
O at T 900

C and P 800 MPa (Naney,
1983; his Fig. 4), a T value considered as reasonable in anomalously
Figure 3. Contrasting textural features of two tonalite rocks from the Cordilleran North Patagonian batholith (Bariloche, Argentina) and the Adamello batholith in Northern Italy. Note
the interstitial texture of Hbl in (b) compared with the euhedral habit of Hbl in (c). Note that Hbl of Adamello tonalite contains abundant Pl inclusions denoting that Pl was previous in
the crystallization sequence. Euhedral faces are preferred at the Hbl-Qtz contacts contrasting with the more irregular shape of the Hbl-Pl contact. These observations support that the
magma was partially crystallized at the time of Hbl growing and, consequently, subsaturated in water, previous to the formation of Qtz. In the case of the Bariloche tonalite, Hbl
saturation is reached at late stages indicating that the initial water content of the magma was very low. Scale bar of micrographs is 1 mm. Mineral abbreviations after Kretz (1983).
A. Castro / Geoscience Frontiers 5 (2014) 63e75 69
300 500 700 900 1100
60
50
40
30
20
10
0.5
1.0
1.5
And
Sil
Ky
UHT W
e
t
p
e
l
i
t
e
s
o
lid
u
s
2
0

C
/
k
m
Typical Barrovian
P-T range
Ultra-high temperature
metamorphism
T (C)
P

(
G
P
a
)
Z

(
k
m
)
Typical Barrovian
P-T-t path
Dehydration melting of amphibolite
2
50 C
/km
Paso de Indios, Argentina (9)
Kohistan gabbros
Pali Aike, Chile (1)
Arabian plate (G-I) (3)
Arabian plate (G-II) (3)
Nushan, East China (4)
Tuoyun, NW China (10)
Califiornia (high Mg) (11)
Kohistan granites
E Peninsular Ranges batholith
Patagonian batholith
Califiornia (low Mg) (11)
Legend
L
o
w
e
r

c
r
u
s
t
x
e
n
o
l
i
t
h
s
BC
0
5
10
15
20
25
40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
SiO
2
(wt%)
P
B

g
a
p
MgO (wt%)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
46 50 54 58 62 66 70 74
Patagonian batholith
SiO
2
(wt%)
N
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

s
a
m
p
l
e
s
6
7
2
4
3
5
8
a
b
9
1
Melting experiments, 1.5 GPa
Residues (with T in C) Liquids
(non-reactive mlange)
Starting material (mlange)
1000
1050
1100
1000
1050
1100
Figure 4. (a) Pressure-temperature diagram showing relevant examples of lower crust granulites (xenoliths and lower crust sections). Temperatures of most granulite xenoliths
exceed the buffering effect imposed by the amphibole breakdown reaction of amphibolites, expected to occur in case of a hypothetical amphibolitic lower crust. Data sources for
granulites are labeled with numbers on the PT eld of each xenoliths locality of lower crust region in (a). The same number refers to geochemical data analyses in (b). These are:
1. Pali Aike, Chile (Selverstone and Stern, 1983); 2. Mecaderes, Colombia (Weber et al., 2002); 3. Arabian plate (Al-Mishwat and Nasir, 2004); 4. Nushan, East China (Huang et al.,
2004); 5. Junan, North China (Ying et al., 2010); 6. Patan-Dasu complex, Kohistan; 7. Jijal granulites, Kohistan (Yoshino and Okudaira, 2004); 8. Valle Frtil metagabbros, Argentina
A. Castro / Geoscience Frontiers 5 (2014) 63e75 70
heated lower continental crust domains. This water-rich magma will
stabilize Amp at its liquidus, earlier than plagioclase in the sequence.
However, so high water contents are unrealistic according to textural
relations (Fig. 3), which are characteristic of strongly water-
undersaturated magma systems. The scarcity of pegmatites in I-
type granites is in agreement with lowwater content in the magmas.
It is very common the presence of polycrystalline aggregates
(clots) of Amp in I-type granodiorites and related enclaves. The
detailed study of textural relations of these Amp clots is sup-
porting provenance from pyroxene (Px) crystals that are trans-
formed to Amp during magma crystallization (Castro and
Stephens, 1992). The presence of these clots is telling us that Px
was in equilibrium with the melt at least at the time of magma
segregation. Whatever the origin of these clots as early pheno-
crysts or peritectic restites from the source (Stephens, 2001), they
imply that temperature was high enough to stabilize Px in a
water-bearing magma system. According to experiments (Patio-
Douce, 1995; Castro et al., 1999), this temperature may be around
1000

C in andesite magmas.
4.2. Metagabbro inclusions
Other indication for high temperature is given by metagabbro
inclusions within tonalites and Qtz-diorties of the Valle Frtil
batholith in Argentina (Castro et al., 2012). The high temperature
assemblages of these inclusions is not reset to low temperature
during cooling because they are agmatites with an effective sepa-
ration of liquid (trondhjemitic) and solid (Opx) residues. Ortho-
pyroxene is present in association to hornblende breakdown.
Orthopyroxene is partially transformed to pargasitic hornblende
formed in equilibrium with plagioclase during cooling. Thermom-
etry results in metagabbros are obtained from those HblePl pairs,
yielding values of T 1000 40

C. New data of UePb SHRIMP
zircon age determinations, together with thermobarometric and
geochemical data (Castro et al., 2012), yield that batholith magma
intrusion is the responsible for heating and self-granulitization of
early gabbro pulses. Metagabbros are not common inclusions in
batholiths. They are more common in deeply-emplaced plutons,
where they provide a valuable information about magma early
temperatures.
5. The granite-granulite coupled association
In an independent way, it is possible to address the origin of
granite batholiths by addressing experimentally the reverse prob-
lem. That is, to determine the nature and composition of the source
by identication of near-liquidus saturation phases. Reverse prob-
lemstudies are very scarce in tonalite-granodiorite systems (Naney,
1983). In partially crystallized andesite systems, a granodiorite
liquid is in equilibrium with assemblages dominated by orthopyr-
oxene and plagioclase at temperatures of about 1000e1100

C for
initial water contents in the magma of about 1.0 wt.% H
2
O (Patio-
Douce, 1995; Castro et al., 1999, 2010). Interestingly, many granulite
xenoliths from the lower crust record peak temperatures close to,
or even higher than 1000

C (Fig. 4a) and fairly reproduce the Px-Pl
(Grt, Spl) solid assemblages predicted by experiments with
andesite systems mentioned above.
Textures indicating decompression at 1.0 GPa and 1000

C
(Opx /Olivine reaction textures; see Castro et al. (2011a), are in
favor of a system that was magmatic in origin and was fraction-
ated and recrystallized during cooling and decompression as a
solid rock to produce the observed metamorphic-like textures. The
possibility that these granulite rocks are the source of granite
magmas is very unlike. First, they are characterized by refractory
assemblages and, in case they are partially molten, the needed T
may exceed 1100

C for very low melt fractions. Second, these
melts will not be granodioritic, but andesitic. That lower crust
granulites were in equilibrium with a granodiorite melt is strongly
supported by experimental phase equilibria studies. The possible
link between batholiths and lower crust granulites have been
explored recently (Castro et al., 2013a) with implications on
mechanisms of new crust generation in arcs without involvement
of crustal delamination. The most outstanding geochemical re-
lations between granulites and batholiths are summarized in this
section.
It is a common observation that granite batholiths dene linear
arrays in geochemical variation diagrams, which resemble cotectic-
like relations (Fig. 2). By contrast, diorite and Qtz-diorite rock
compositions (SiO
2
<60 wt.%) and lower crust granulites (xenoliths
and the Kohistan gabbros) are scattered and do not dened linear
arrays (Fig. 4b). There is a compositional gap at SiO
2
54e58 wt.%
separating linear and scattered regions in silica variation diagrams
of batholiths (Fig. 4b). Granite samples plotting along a common
cotectic trend are not always coeval, with differences in age of
about 20 Ma (170e150 Ma) in the case of the North Patagonia
batholith (Castro et al., 2011b). These non-coeval samples cannot be
fractionated from a common magma at the place of emplacement.
More likely, they represent cotectic magma pulses extracted at
different temperatures from a common partially crystallized
magma at depth. Looking at the MgO-SiO
2
diagram of Fig. 4b, it is
apparent that parental magma composition to the Patagonian
batholith is at the silica gap with values of 56e60 wt.% SiO
2
. The
same reasoning can be applied to granites and lower crust gabbros
of the Kohistan (Pakistan) arc section (Fig. 4b). Lower crust gran-
ulite xenoliths, which are scattered on the low-silica side of the
diagrams, left of the silica gap, can be interpreted in the same way,
as residues left after granite (batholiths) magma segregation. The
scattered distributions of lower crust granulites report a large
compositional heterogeneity for the lower crust, which sharply
contrast with the more homogeneous upper crust, dominated by
large homogeneous granodiorite-granite batholiths.
The wide compositional region of lower crust xenoliths plotted
in the MgO-SiO
2
diagram (Fig. 4b), overlaps the composition of
gabbroic rocks that form the ca. 30 km thick lower crust at the
Kohistan arc section (Garrido et al., 2006; Dhuime et al., 2009). All
these mac xenoliths and the Kohistan gabbros have in common an
abnormal composition compared to common magmas: in spite of
having silica contents close to basalts (ca. 50 wt.%), they have values
of MgO < 7.0 wt.% and Mg
#
< 0.6, which are too low for basaltic
magmas equilibrated with the peridotite mantle. Although a spe-
cic explanation has been proposed for these low Mg
#
values
(Castro et al., 2012); 9. Paso de Indios xenoliths, Argentina (Castro et al., 2011a). Other elds of interest included in the plot are: Typical Barrovian path and PT range (Jamieson et al.,
1998), Ultrahigh pressure metamorphic area (Kelsey, 2008) and Dehydration melting of amphibolite (Lpez and Castro, 2001). (b) Major compositional relations between lower
crust granulites and cordilleran batholiths, and comparison with experimental residues and melts (Castro et al., 2010) from basalt-sediment mlanges respectively. The composition
of the bulk crust (BC; Rudnick and Gao, 2003) and the arc section of Kohistan (Garrido et al., 2006; Dhuime et al., 2009) are shown for reference. Composition of lower crust
xenoliths taken from references (1, 3, 4 and 9) of the upper panel (a), labeled with the same numbers in the legend of the lower panel (b), and references to labels 10, Tuoyun, North
West China (Zheng et al., 2006); 11. California (Lee et al., 2007). Data from Patagonian batholith are from Herve et al. (2007) and Castro et al. (2011b), and data from Eastern
Peninsular Ranges are from Lee et al. (2007). Average bulk crust (labeled BC) is andesitic and lies close to the compositional gap displayed by granitoids of the Patagonian batholith
(labeled PB gap) at about 54e58 wt.% SiO
2
(histogram in b).
A. Castro / Geoscience Frontiers 5 (2014) 63e75 71
(Jagoutz et al., 2006), these values are, in general, much lower than
cumulates or residues left either after incomplete crystallization or
partial melting of a basaltic source. Consequently, the possibility
that lower crust mac granulites represent underplated basaltic
magma can be questioned. Moreover, trace element relations (e.g.,
low values of Rb, K and REE, positive Eu anomaly, among others)
strongly support that they represent residues left after segregation
of a melt. Because any process of fractionation and melt extraction
will produce residues richer in MgOand poorer in SiO
2
compared to
the parental magma, the composition of the residual lower crust
implies a parental magma that can be close to an andesite.
That batholiths represent melts and lower crust granulites
represent the corresponding solid residues is rmly supported on
geological and petrological data, and at the same time compatible
with thermal models and experimental phase equilibria. No other
hypothesis on granite magma generation has a so strong support.
Interestingly, temperatures of more than 900

C are recorded by
lower crust xenoliths (Fig. 4a). These high temperatures are coin-
cident with those of melting experiments needed to generate
tonalitic and granodiorite batholiths from partially molten basalt-
sediment subduction mlanges (Castro et al., 2010). If lower crust
granulites are the product of thermally induced metamorphism by
mantle upwelling and lithosphere extension, mantle melts (basalts)
must be produced pervasively from the ascending hot mantle and
intruded into the crust at the time of lower crust metamorphism.
However, they are absent. Advective heat transport by mantle-
derived basalt to the lower crust has been postulated as a
possible cause of lower crust metamorphism and melting (Annen
et al., 2006). However, according to these thermal models, a
basalt-to-crust ratio of 2:1 is needed to reach the high tempera-
tures recorded by granulites. Nevertheless, these expected high
proportions of basaltic rocks are missing in the continental crust,
and they never occur in relation with batholith magma generation.
Several interesting questions emerge from these observations.
Where is the heat source for lower crust granulite metamorphism?
Are lower crust granulite true metamorphic rocks? Or simply are
they magmatic residues left after granite magma segregation? Is
there a protolith at the lower crust undergoing metamorphism and
partial melting? The hypothesis of magmatic residues seems to be
the most plausible. The high temperature recorded by mineral
equilibria is that of granite magma at the time of segregation. Re-
lations with batholiths (upper crust) are obvious from both major
and trace elements.
6. Plume assisted relamination: the off-crust origin of
batholiths
Plume-assisted relamination is a newconception in subduction-
related magmatism emerging from varied and independent ap-
proaches, namely thermomechanical numerical experiments
(Gerya and Yuen, 2003; Gerya et al., 2004; Gerya and Meilick, 2011;
Vogt et al., 2013), experimental phase equilibria of batholith
magma generation (Castro et al., 2010, 2013a) and mass balance
calculations (Hacker et al., 2011). Essentially, the new conception
proposes that magmas of intermediate composition (diorite,
andesite) are generated by melting of subducted materials in silicic
composite plumes (oceanic crust and sediments), which are nally
relaminated to below the lower crust, where they split by melt
segregation into liquids, which are emplaced at the middle and
upper crust (batholiths), and solid residues that remain at the lower
crust (mac granulites). The relaminated andesite magmas may
reach the lower continental crust at high temperatures of about
1000e1100

C, containing a crystal fraction of about 50% according
to predictions by phase equilibria experiments. Temperatures of
the same order (ca. 1000

C) are recorded by lower crust granulite
xenoliths around the world (Fig. 4a). Furthermore, the character-
istic low-water content of calc-alkaline batholiths, with initial
water contents of about 1e2 wt.% H
2
O, is compatible with high
temperatures of about 1000

C at the time of magma segregation
from the composite underplated plumes.
The important role of subducted materials (sediments and
altered oceanic crust) in arc magmatism has been pointed out by
means of geochemical studies of arc lavas (Plank and Langmuir,
1998; Plank, 2005; Hacker et al., 2011). A detailed geochemical
study of batholitic rocks with adakitic afnities in Tibet (Gandese
batholith; Gao et al., 2007), yield to the conclusion that subducted
sediments, and not crustal assimilation, were responsible for
crustal signatures. The rocks of the Gandese batholith in Tibet are
truly calc-alkaline granodiorites and tonalites in which, a promi-
nent adakitic signature is identied by high Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios.
The long-lived granodiorite-tonalite magmatism represented by
the large Cordilleran batholiths of the Americas is pointing in the
same off-crust origin for magmas. For instance, the Mesozoic Ca-
nadian Coast batholith, extending for more than 1200 km along the
coast of British Columbia (Canada), shows an almost continuous
and uniform plutonic activity for about 105 Ma (Crawford et al.,
2005); the Coast batholith in northern Chile (Parada et al., 1999)
shows an almost continuous plutonic activity for about 200 Ma
since Carboniferous to Tertiary; the North Patagonian batholith
(Pankhurst et al., 1999) is formed by amalgamation of 25 plutons
with uniform granodiorite to tonalite composition, which are
emplaced along 105 Ma; and, nally, the South Patagonian batho-
lith is characterized by an intense plutonic activity of granodiorite
to tonalite composition lasting for 150 Ma along Mesozoic and
Tertiary. These data strongly suggest that a crustal source, located
within the continental crust, is very unlike, either as crustal
contaminant or as direct source of magmas. Subduction is the only
mechanism able to renew continuously the source of magmas
without changing the composition of batholiths.
In the new paradigm of mantle-wedge diapirs, emerging from
the above-mentioned thermomechanical numerical modeling,
batholiths are the natural consequence of protracted introduction
of fertile subducted materials into hot zones of the sublithospheric
mantle. Potential magmatic implications have been checked by
laboratory experiments aimed to assess melt fractions and com-
positions and to compare these with natural rocks (Castro et al.,
2010, 2013a). Also the geochemical implications in terms of
radiogenic isotopes Sr and Nd have been modeled (Vogt et al.,
2013). In summary, thermal and compositional requirements are
totally satised by the plume-assisted relamination model (Vogt
et al., 2012; Castro et al., 2013b). A detailed analysis of chemical
variation trends in batholiths, and their comparison with experi-
mental phase equilibria, yield that an andesite magmatic precur-
sor is favored to account for the generation of both granite
batholiths and lower crust granulites. Consequently, the study of
lower crustal rocks, represented by xenoliths transported by ba-
salts and exumed sections in continent-continent or arc-continent
collision zones (e.g., the Kohistan arc section; Garrido et al., 2006,
2007; Dhuime et al., 2009), is essential to understand the origin of
batholiths.
Fig. 5 shows a cartoon based on numerical thermomechanical
models (Gerya and Meilick, 2011; Vogt et al., 2012, 2013) summa-
rizing the essentials of the proposed mechanism of plume-assisted
crustal relamination (Castro et al., 2013b). Details of structures
generated in numerical models supporting this general scheme
(Vogt et al., 2013) reveal the complexity of processes with varied
magmatic implications. Two main types of diapiric structures are
formed in the models, depending on the magnitude of melt
weakening effects on the overlying lithosphere (Gerya and Meilick,
2011; Vogt et al., 2013). These are: (1) Underplating diapirs (Fig. 5a),
A. Castro / Geoscience Frontiers 5 (2014) 63e75 72
which spread belowthe lithosphere for several million years if melt
percolation has little effect on lithosphere strength and (2) trans-
lithospheric diapirs (Fig. 5b), which are formed when lithosphere is
weakened by melt propagation, allowing silicic diapir to move
upwards. These translithospheric diapirs ascend rapidly through
the lithosphere mantle and are nally emplaced at crustal levels
resulting in the formation of magma chambers and batholiths (blue
plutons in Fig. 5c). The lower parts of the diapiric structure (diapir
Coupling
Roll-back
Roll-back
Sediments
Underplating silicic diapir
Subd.
erosion
Partially molten
mlange
Continental crust
Partial crystallization and fractionation of relaminated magma chambers
Formation of translithospheric diapirs
Sediment subduction, crustal erosion and silicic (magmatic) diapir generation
Batholith emplacement and generation of lower crust mafic residues
Mafic magmas from reaction channels
Batholiths
Mafic granulites
a
b
c
1100 C
Translithospheric diapir
(reaction channels)
Translithospheric diapir
(reaction channels)
Figure 5. Cartoonshowing the time evolutionof anactive continental marginas basedonthermomechanical numerical model predictions and compatibility withphase equilibria about
melt andmineral compositions. (a) Stage of plate coupling andconsequent introductionof sediments anderodedportions of the continental marginintothe subductionchannel, together
with altered oceanic crust (mlange). Partial molten mlange is being transported into buoyant structures (silicic diapir), which is emplaced into the hot region of the mantle wedge. (b)
Melt percolationthroughthelithosphereprovokes platedecoupling(GeryaandMeilick, 2011; Vogt et al., 2012). Thewholediapir canbeemplacedat thelower crust (magma relamination)
andfractionateintogranuliteresidues andgranodiorie-tonaliteliquids that formthebatholiths. Translithospheric diapirs canbeformedat this stage, givingrisetoreactionchannels (c) and
new magma generation compatible with high-Mg andesites and sanukitoids that accompany to continental arc andesitic volcanism and batholiths respectively.
A. Castro / Geoscience Frontiers 5 (2014) 63e75 73
tail) remain attached to the slab, forming a weak zone, where
intense reaction between subducted materials and the surrounding
peridotite mantle is expected to occur. These translithospheric di-
apirs can be seen as reaction channels, which were previously
inferred to account for the chemistry of arc lavas, and particularly
the generation of high-Mg andesites (Kelemen, 1995; Kelemen
et al., 2003). These inferences were tested experimentally with
satisfactory results (Castro et al., 2013b). By contrast, underplated
diapirs are growing for long periods of time (up to 20 Ma) belowthe
lithosphere (Fig. 5a). Melt extraction from the diapir may weaken
the lithosphere and provoke the ascent and emplacement at the
lower crust, contributing largely to relamination and crustal
growing (Fig. 5b). During the ascent and emplacement within the
lower crust, granitic melt may segregate to form silicic (tonalite-
granodiorite) batholiths at the upper crust (red plutons in Fig. 5c),
leaving behind solid residues that form lower crust mac granu-
lites, which are mostly composed of pyroxene and plagioclase.
Depending on pressure and temperature during magma segrega-
tion of these composed diapirs, garnet may be a stable phase in the
solid residue, which may confer to the melt particular adakitic
signatures (high Sr/Y and Ce/Yb ratios) that are reported in
particular cases of calc-alcaline intrusions. Because garnet is not the
liquidus phase in water-bearing andesite systems below 2.3 GPa
(Ringwood, 1982), andesite liquids can be devoid of this adakitic
signature, which is not transferred to the respective fractionated
liquids. Finally, we have to mention that mantle peridotite sur-
rounding both translithispheric channels and sublithospheric di-
apirs, can be affected by uids released from the water-rich silicic
systems leading to mantle metasomatism and generation of par-
gasitic amphibole within the mantle. This metasomatized mantle
region is ready to generate new magma types of shoshonitic and
monzonitic afnities by decompression melting. These potassic
magmas are typically associated to late stages of lithosphere
convergence related to extension and mantle upwelling.
7. Concluding remarks
Fundamental paradoxes emerging from the application of on-
crust models for the generation of granite batholiths can be
solved by application of off-crust models. These receive support
from thermomechanical numerical modeling and laboratory ex-
periments. The off-crust generation of granite batholiths consti-
tutes a newparadigminwhich important geological implications of
granite magmatism can be satisfactorily explained. Geochemical
variations with time in Cordilleran batholiths are in good agree-
ment with this new conception.
That granites are hybrid rocks is a fact widely documented by
isotopic ratios. However, the ways by which these hybrid signatures
are acquired have remained controversial. That they are acquired
within the continental crust by modications imposed to mantle-
derived magmas is not supported by natural data.
Phase equilibria relations allow us to explore the possibility
that batholith rock series represent liquids derived from crystal-
lization or partial melting of a hybrid, homogeneous system.
Major-element compositional trends follow cotectic trends, whose
composition is largely dependent on intensive variables. The
comparison between experiments and batholith chemical trends
produces an empirical thermodynamic framework useful to un-
derstand in a rst approach the origin and evolution of magmas
forming granite batholiths.
Acknowledgments
I acknowledge with thanks fruitful discussions about granite
magma generation along the last years with Taras Gerya and
Katharina Vogt at ETH-Zurich, Guillermo Corretg at University of
Oviedo, Michel Pichavant at ISTO-CNRS Orlans, Antonio Garca-
Casco at University of Granada and Carlos Fernndez and Ignacio
Moreno-Ventas at University of Huelva. I thank M. Santosh for
encouraging me to write this short review. Constructive criticisms
by Taras Gerya and Antonio Garca-Casco contributed to improve an
earlier version of the manuscript. Financial support for this research
comes from Grants P09-RNM-05378 and CGL2010-22022-C02-01.
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